1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pinball machines, and more particularly to ball gates and targets for pinball machines. The present invention specifically relates to a target assembly of the kind that has a first position wherein a target is positioned in a channel on a playfield to close the channel, and a second position wherein the target is removed from the channel to open the channel
2. Background Art
In a pinball game, a player operates flippers to direct a ball over a playfield to various targets to score points. The targets are assigned different scores, and targets having high scores are often placed in areas of the playfield that are reached only by the more skillful players. The player, for example, must direct the ball to a restricted channel on the playfield to reach the high-scoring targets.
Often a channel leading to the high-scoring targets is blocked until certain low-scoring targets are struck. One known way of blocking such a channel is to place a drop target assembly in the channel. A suitable drop target assembly, for example, is described in Moravec, U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,186. At the start of a game, the drop targets are raised to block the channel. When a drop target is struck by the ball, it drops beneath the playfield to provide an opening through the channel.
Pivoting visors and gate ramps have also been used in pinball machines in order to provide various types of play features. Joos, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,646, for example, shows a plurality of targets mounted on a target carrier. The target carrier can be raised above the surface of the playfield where the targets can be hit by a ball or lowered below the playfield so that the ball will pass over the targets. Located behind this first set of targets on the playfield is a second set of targets. The second set of targets is either covered by a visor or exposed to be contacted by a ball. The visor is operatively connected to the target carrier such that the downward movement of the target carrier results in upward movement of the visor. In this manner, the two target areas are alternatively exposed to the player to vary the scoring opportunities.
A pivoting gate-ramp is described in Kaminkow et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,699. The ramp carries targets and provides a gate-like covering for an opening and passage to other targets and areas of the playfield. When a ball traveling up the ramp strikes a target carried by the ramp, the ramp is pivoted to its open position revealing an opening and passage to other targets and areas of the game.